The role of the Gulf of Cadiz circulation in the redistribution of trace metals between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea

A new Galeommatid bivalve is described for the Mediterranean Sea, tentatively assigned to the elusive genus Draculamya Oliver and Lützen, 2011. “Draculamya” uraniae n. sp is described upon a number of dead but fresh and articulated specimens, plus many loose valves. Its distribution is almost basin-wide in the Mediterranean, and it possibly occurs in the adjacent Gulf of Cadiz. As for many members in Galeommatida, we hypothesize that “Draculamya” uraniae lives as commensal upon a still-unknown host. The possible co-identity of the extant genus Draculamya with the morphologically similar Pliocene Glibertia Van der Meulen, 1951, is discussed, although the lack of anatomical and genetic support leaves the problem open.

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The Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Cadiz as a natural laboratory for paleotsunami research: Recent advancements

Earth-Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103578 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 103578

Author(s):

P.M. De Martini ◽

H.J. Bruins ◽

L. Feist ◽

B.N. Goodman-Tchernov ◽

H. Hadler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Gulf Of Cadiz ◽

Gulf Of Cádiz ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Natural Laboratory

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Internal features, mineralogy and geochemistry of ferromanganese nodules from the Gulf of Cadiz: The role of the Mediterranean Outflow Water undercurrent

Journal of Marine Systems ◽

10.1016/j.jmarsys.2009.10.010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 80 (3-4) ◽

pp. 203-218 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

F.J. González ◽

L. Somoza ◽

R. Lunar ◽

J. Martínez-Frías ◽

J.A. Martín Rubí ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Cadiz ◽

Ferromanganese Nodules ◽

Mediterranean Outflow Water ◽

Gulf Of Cádiz ◽

Mediterranean Outflow ◽

The Mediterranean

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Latest Miocene restriction of the Mediterranean Outflow Water: a perspective from the Gulf of Cádiz

Geo-Marine Letters ◽

10.1007/s00367-021-00693-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Zhi Lin Ng ◽

F. Javier Hernández-Molina ◽

Débora Duarte ◽

Francisco J. Sierro ◽

Santiago Ledesma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Exchange ◽

Water Mass ◽

Atlantic Water ◽

Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽

Gulf Of Cadiz ◽

Mediterranean Outflow Water ◽

Gulf Of Cádiz ◽

Mediterranean Outflow ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

Water Mass Exchange

AbstractThe Mediterranean-Atlantic water mass exchange provides the ideal setting for deciphering the role of gateway evolution in ocean circulation. However, the dynamics of Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) during the closure of the Late Miocene Mediterranean-Atlantic gateways are poorly understood. Here, we define the sedimentary evolution of Neogene basins from the Gulf of Cádiz to the West Iberian margin to investigate MOW circulation during the latest Miocene. Seismic interpretation highlights a middle to upper Messinian seismic unit of transparent facies, whose base predates the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). Its facies and distribution imply a predominantly hemipelagic environment along the Atlantic margins, suggesting an absence or intermittence of MOW preceding evaporite precipitation in the Mediterranean, simultaneous to progressive gateway restriction. The removal of MOW from the Mediterranean-Atlantic water mass exchange reorganized the Atlantic water masses and is correlated to a severe weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and a period of further cooling in the North Atlantic during the latest Miocene.

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A Near-Uniform Basin-Wide Sea Level Fluctuation of the Mediterranean Sea

Journal of Physical Oceanography ◽

10.1175/jpo3016.1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 338-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

Ichiro Fukumori ◽

Dimitris Menemenlis ◽

Tong Lee

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Ocean ◽

Mediterranean Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Circulation Model ◽

Level Fluctuation ◽

Strait Of Gibraltar ◽

Sea Level Fluctuation ◽

The Mediterranean

Abstract A new basin-wide oscillation of the Mediterranean Sea is identified and analyzed using sea level observations from the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon satellite altimeter and a numerical ocean circulation model. More than 50% of the large-scale, nontidal, and non-pressure-driven variance of sea level can be attributed to this oscillation, which is nearly uniform in phase and amplitude across the entire basin. The oscillation has periods ranging from 10 days to several years and has a magnitude as large as 10 cm. The model suggests that the fluctuations are driven by winds at the Strait of Gibraltar and its neighboring region, including the Alboran Sea and a part of the Atlantic Ocean immediately to the west of the strait. Winds in this region force a net mass flux through the Strait of Gibraltar to which the Mediterranean Sea adjusts almost uniformly across its entire basin with depth-independent pressure perturbations. The wind-driven response can be explained in part by wind setup; a near-stationary balance is established between the along-strait wind in this forcing region and the sea level difference between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The amplitude of this basin-wide wind-driven sea level fluctuation is inversely proportional to the setup region’s depth but is insensitive to its width including that of Gibraltar Strait. The wind-driven fluctuation is coherent with atmospheric pressure over the basin and contributes to the apparent deviation of the Mediterranean Sea from an inverse barometer response.

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